Turkish politics may bode ill for release of missionary from Black Mountain

Jacqueline Furnari, the daughter of a missionary from Black Mountain imprisoned in Turkey, told a government commission Wednesday that she has seen her father once since he was put behind bars in October 2016.

"We sobbed the entire visit. ... It was difficult to see my dad so thin and so desperate," said Furnari, a student at UNC Chapel Hill.

Pastor Andrew Brunson is "dealing with anxiety and depression," Furnari said, and has difficulty writing letters to her because "it reminds him of what he's missing out on."

CeCe Heil, an official with a nonprofit mounting a defense of Brunson, said he has lost 50 pounds in captivity and for much of his time behind bars was one of 22 people held in a cell designed for eight.

Both spoke during a hearing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe on questionable detentions of Americans and others in Turkey chaired by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, in Washington. Composed of members of both political parties and both houses of Congress and executive branch officials, the body commonly called the "Helsinki Commission" monitors the human rights situation across Europe.

"Please make any and all efforts to secure my dad's release and bring him home for Christmas," Furnari asked the commission.

The hearing did not offer many reasons to be optimistic that will happen.

Turkey has been in an official state of emergency since July 2016, when a coup attempt failed to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. That has sharply curtailed civil liberties in the country and made it easier for the government to hold people indefinitely regardless of their guilt or innocence, the commission was told, and there are no signs of that situation changing soon.

No one suggested anything other than that the Erdogan government bears the responsibility for Brunson's incarceration.

But other testimony indicated that while the U.S. government has pushed for Brunson's release, the Trump administration has also given Turkey mixed signals as to the importance the United States places on human rights and the rule of law.

Brunson and his wife had been missionaries in the city of Izmir in southeastern Turkey for more than 20 years before he was taken into custody on suspicion that he tried to undermine the Turkish government.

Jonathan Cohen, deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasian affairs, called the accusations against Brunson "outlandish charges."

"We do not believe there's any merit to any of these," he said.

The American Center for Law and Justice, a Christian group that advocates for Christian rights and conservative positions on social issues, is leading legal and other efforts to win Brunson's release.

Heil, an official with the center, says that is not a simple job.

"Why is he in prison? He literally has no idea and has yet to be charged with a crime," she said.

No evidence against Brunson has been produced and his file is sealed, Heil said.

"If (Turkish officials) had evidence to support their accusations of the crimes, you would think that they would go ahead and charge him and proceed, but they have not," she said.

Furnari called accusations against her father "absurd."

"My dad is not an armed terrorist seeking to overthrow a government. ... Everything in his life is centered on his faith," she said.

Cohen said it is easy for people in Turkey to make "poison pen allegations driven by personal or other rivalries" against others that result in arrests regardless of the truth of the charges.

Nate Schenkkan, an official with Freedom House, a U.S. nonprofit that advocates for human and civil rights worldwide, said Erdogan is attacking ethnic and religious minorities to help keep his hold on power. Another method is undermining the independence of the Turkish justice system.

Part of Erdogan's strategy is using anti-U.S. rhetoric to rally popular support ahead of 2019 elections in which Erdogan hopes to consolidate his rule, Schenkkan said.

"We should not expect an improvement in the rule of law in Turkey in the next two years," he said.

Complicating matters is the presence in the United States of Fetullah Gullen, a former Erdogan ally the Turkish president blames as the force behind the 2016 coup attempt. The U.S. so far has turned down Turkey's entreaties that Gullen be sent to Turkey for trial, saying Turkey has not provided evidence to justify his extradition.

The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 10 that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Michael Flynn, briefly national security adviser in the Trump administration, was part of a plot to kidnap Gullen and deliver him to Turkey. Flynn denies it. He was part of the Trump campaign, has been targeted for his ties to Russia but also admitted lobbying for Turkey.

"This is not justice; it's ransom," he said. "The United States should not expect, much less accept, this sort of treatment from a NATO ally."

Schenkkan said anything that encourages talk of a deal through extralegal means undermines the chances for Brunson's release.

Although President Donald Trump and other members of his administration have raised the Brunson issue with Turkish officials, Schenkkan also obliquely noted fulsome praise Trump has given Erdogan. He would rather see a clearer message from the administration emphasizing human rights.

There have been moves in Congress to penalize Turkish officials violating human rights. They stem from concerns about detentions like Brunson's and a May incident in which members of Erdogan's personal security team were seen on videotape attacking protesters in Washington.

Schenkkan said that no matter what the Trump administration does, there will be disagreements between the U.S. and Turkey, which has helped the United States on several matters in the Middle East.

Turkey has also imprisoned a NASA employee with dual U.S.-Turkey citizenship and arrested two employees of U.S. consulates in Turkey. Critics also doubt the validity of those charges.

"The problem of rule of law in Turkey is one that will be with us for a long time," Schenkkan told the commission.

"There are no magic bullets for improving the U.S.-Turkey relationship. There are diverging values," he said.

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